


Tea Leaves

by Thatbookishgirl



Series: Steve and Loki Fluff-fest [4]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anxiety, Fluff, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Meet-Cute, Tea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-15 15:48:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8062339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatbookishgirl/pseuds/Thatbookishgirl
Summary: Steve just wants to get in and out of the grocery store without talking to anyone other than a clerk. He doesn't like crowds. He doesn't like really like socializing in most aspects. But he needs supplies so he goes out when he thinks things will be the most quiet. When he spots his ex in the same store he hides in a nearby aisle, only to convince the man already shopping there to help him avoid catching his ex's attention. Things don;t exactly go as planned, but maybe that;s not such a bad thing.





	

                _Damnit_. Damnit, damnit, damnit. Steve saw his ex walking through the produce section near where he was picking through some apples. He had been meaning to just get in and out then straight back home, never one for spending much time out. He got anxious on occasion, especially when there were crowds. The reason he came to the grocery store at 1 in the afternoon on a Tuesday was because he thought it would be mostly empty. It was sparsely populated, which was good, but seeing Tony waltzing through the doors was enough to push him over the edge. He dropped his basket and ducked into the nearby aisle, the coffee, tea, and breakfast foods aisle. There was a man already standing there. He had long, dark hair pulled back. He was tall and lean and captured Steve’s attention right away. The man was holding a tin of loose leaf tea in his hands and seemed focused on the label. He was distracted by Tony laughing and made his move.

                “Hey. Hi. My name is Steve. You don’t know me but, uh, I was just trying to buy some groceries and my ex came in the store and I’m hiding from him. I super don’t want to talk to him at all and he’s more likely not to approach me if I’m not alone so can I just talk to you and hover here until he goes away?” Steve rambled out at nearly break neck speed.

                The brunette man simply raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down. Steve tightened his lips and waited for any sort of response with bated breath. He felt like he was buzzing under his skin as he watched the stranger’s face turn into a soft smile. Steve generally avoided talking to people but he was willing to forgo his comfort in this case if it meant avoiding potential taunting from Tony.

                “My name is Loki. It is nice to meet you…I suppose I can participate in your ruse,” he smirked. Steve deflated and smiled has his shoulders relax.

                “Thank you. I – I’m very grateful,” he grinned back, biting his lower lip.

                “It is no bother. Not really. I was just spending more time than necessary deciding between different teas,” Loki chuckled.

                “Oh? Having a conundrum?” Steve laughed.

                “Not a conundrum, per se. Just being fickle. It could easily be remedied by my simply buying both,” Loki shrugged, placing both tins in the basket.

                “Have you ever tried to wild orange tea there?” Steve pointed to a small, green and grey tin near the top.

                “No, I have not. You like it?” Loki tilted his head.

                “I do. It has orange peel, white tea leaves, valerian root, turmeric, and ginger. I like to drink it before bed sometimes. The valerian is great at calming nerves. The ginger and orange peel just make it taste really nice. I think I have at least 5 tins of it at home,” he revealed.

                “I have a few as well, actually. I’m prone to anxiety when going to bed at night and the valerian helps me get to sleep. I had tried going to an herb shop near my apartment to buy some to make my own tea. But I never seemed to find a balance that work. Of course, it might be psycho-somatic and I’m just dependent on that tea now,” Loki explained.

                “Really? I never tried getting the herbs on my own. I did go through a few different kinds of tea before I found one that worked,” Steve shrugged.

                “Loki?” they both heard a voice come from behind Steve. He immediately recognized it as Tony and tensed up again.

                “Hello, Anthony,” Loki replied coldly.

                “Hey there, fancy seeing you here. Oh, hi Steve,” Tony cocked his head and grinned.

                “Hi…Tony,” Steve breathed out, tension completely heightened. Loki noticed Steve’s discomfort and realized who Tony was to him.

                “You two know each other?” Tony asked as he stood next to them, his basket placed at their feet.

                “Umm – “

                “We are here to buy some supplies. We are going back to mine to make dinner,” Loki leaned closer to Steve.

                “Oh, I wasn’t aware you two…” Tony gestured back and forth between them.

                “As of recent, yes,” Loki curled up his mouth on one side and placed his hand on Steve’s shoulder.

                “I didn’t know you knew Tony,” Steve perplexed.

                “We work for the same company,” Loki supplied.

                “I never saw you when he dragged me to all those office parties,” Steve laughed nervously.

                “I didn’t care for those. I don’t like socializing all that much. It would have peculiar for you to have spotted me there,” Loki delivered. Tony stood awkwardly and narrowed his eyes at the two of them.

                “Aww, don’t act like it was such a chore. You had fun,” Tony pressed.

                “Yea…fun…” Steve sighed and glanced away from both men down the aisle. He was getting desperate for an escape route.

                “You were when you actually loosened up and had some drinks,” Tony snickered.

                “I drank in order to loosen up, Tony. I was anxious. I don’t like crowds. You know that,” Steve frowned.

                “But after a few drinks you’d be fine. And we always had fun when he got back home,” he leered and touched Steve’s back, but Steve flinched away. Loki became internally alarmed by that reaction and resolved to do something that was not generally in his nature.

                “Steven, darling. Let’s finish up here so we can get back,” he grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled him closer, locking eyes and trying to convey a look of comfort. Steve calmed and blushed. Loki was extending a lifeline and he was definitely going to take it.

                “Oh. Yea. We should finish up here. I think I’ve had enough time out with others today,” he replied. Feeling bold, he moved into Loki’s space and kissed him in the cheek. Loki was blushing now and grinning like a cat. Steve was shocked by his own behavior but even more by Loki’s follow-up reaction. Loki took Steve’s chin between his fingers and brought their lips together.

                The world fell out beneath Steve. Loki’s lips were soft and warm. He melted right into him and brought a hand up to Loki’s hip. He felt anchored and calm. He found he did not want to stop kissing Loki and chased his lips when it felt like they were going to pulled back. Loki didn’t fight it and let them remained pressed together. Both men moaned softly until a cough interrupted them.

                “Yes, very nice. Guess I’ll just go then,” Tony faltered and stepped back.

                “Nice seeing you, Anthony. Until next time,” he retorted, not even looking away from Steve’s flushed and smiling face. After Tony was away from the aisle and out of ear shot Steve giggled.

                “Uh, sorry if I – crossed a line. I – um, yea,” he stammered.

                “No need to apologize. I rather enjoyed it,” Loki purred.

                “I liked it too. Funny I only met you 5 minutes ago though,” Steve grimaced slightly.

                “I’m surprised you would date someone like Tony. He is rather…crass. You seem not well-suited. You seem much more calm and focused. He is practically living chaos,” the brunette reasoned.

                “Well, I don’t get out much and he was nice to me. I’m not exactly confident so I guess I got into a relationship that wasn’t exactly healthy or even. I broke it off about 7 months ago,” Steve revealed.

                “You are much better off. He’s a tom cat and I was never overly fond of him. If I can avoid it, we rarely do business together. He often distracts from progress when working on projects,” Loki laughed.

                “Well, um, thanks again. For helping me. You really didn’t have to,” Steve looked at his shoes.

                “If you aren’t busy…I am free this afternoon. If you wanted to…maybe come over for tea,” Loki tested.

                “That…yea. I might like that,” Steve grinned sheepishly.

                “This is a bit unusual,” Loki said quietly.

                “Well, maybe unusual is alright sometimes,” Steve smiled and picked up Loki’s basket for him.

                “Such a gentleman,” he chuckled.

                “I am when it counts,” he teased.

                “Perhaps I look forward to seeing when you aren’t,” Loki cocked a brow suggestively.

                “Oh,” Steve blushed again and sucked in his lower lip.

                “You’re adorable. Let’s go. I can make you dinner and we can watch a film. No expectations,” Loki touched his hand.

                “That sounds nice. Thank you,” the blonde man breathed and let Loki lead him out of the store.

 

 

1 year later

                “Steven?” Loki called out into the apartment. He had come home early to surprise Steve with some new art supplies and a jullian. He found a beautiful, dark oak piece last time he travelled to London to visit his mother as well as conduct business for work. He accompanied her to an art shop to purchase thread and yarn for some of her weaving she liked to do on last afternoons. As soon as he saw the jullian on the back wall it screamed Steve’s name in his mind. He quickly ordered one and it had arrived that afternoon.

                “Steven? Are you home?” still not receiving and answer he moved further inside. His jacket was by the door and some tea was recently brewed based on the still steaming kettle. He made his way to the bedroom and found Steve sipping tea on the bench by the window. As soon as he saw Loki he beamed and set his cup down.

                “Sorry, I didn’t hear you come in. I was lost in my head for a minute there,” he greeted. Loki pressed their lips together and hugged him close.

                “No bother, darling. How was your day?” he asked as he slipped off his cardigan and shoes. Steve untied his tie and set it on the dresser.

                “It was…ok. I worked myself up a little after I finished my last commission for the day,” Steve answered.

                “Oh? Something the matter?” Loki sought, tangling his fingers with his boyfriend’s.

                “Nothing is the matter. I just – I made myself nervous for no reason. I got you a gift and thought maybe you wouldn’t like it. Then I felt silly for thinking that and worked myself into a weird anxiety spiral,” he huffed.

                “You never need to worry about me not liking anything you should want to give me. Are you still feeling on edge? Would you like me to draw you a bath or rub your shoulders?” Loki wanted to calm him, knowing full well how distressing consistent anxiety was.

                “No. Not yet. But I would like to give you your gift though,” he chewed on his lip.

                “I thought I told you that only I could bite your lip,” Loki teased and kissed him again.

                “Sorry, baby,” he giggled, “Will you sit?” Loki kissed him once more and sat down. Steve reached into his bag near the bed and came over with a small, grey tin. It looked to be some tea that Loki wasn’t familiar with. He fiddled with it in his hand and sat back across form Loki, legs touching softly.

                “So, about a year ago I met you at the grocery store looking at tea. You rescued me from an extremely awkward interaction with Tony and were nice enough to want to spend more time with me,” Steve began.

                “Was that really a year ago?” Loki blushed.

                “Yea. I – I want you to know how incredibly grateful I am, still, for that. I mean, I don’t know what I would do without you in my life. You get me, you don’t make me do things you know make me uncomfortable. You think my weird habits are cute. And you love me in a way I’ve never had before. And I love you. _Everything_ about you. It’s a rare day when I thank my anxiety for influencing my day,” Steve continued.

                “It is a rare day when I am grateful for your anxiety as well,” Loki choked out, moved by his lover’s words, “If it weren’t for your aversion to crowds I would not have been found at the store and brought you home with me. I was worried you were going to say ‘no’ when I offered to bring you back to mine. Imagine my surprise when you said yes. Of course, I was far more surprised by how skilled you are with that tongue when you’re not trying to fumble your way through an social interaction.”

                Steve blushed a deep red. After having tea and eating a light meal during a movie on their first day getting to know each other they ended up making out on the couch. Which evolved into him giving Loki a blow job before Loki fucked him on the floor. He was afraid it would turn into a one-night stand. But Loki let him stay the night. And they spent the entire next day together. And the day after that. They had become slightly co-dependent in the beginning and worked on that. They found a balance that both of them desperately needed.

                “Yea, well, your tongue is a bit more skilled than mine,” he recalled.

                “Oh? Perhaps we should hold a contest this evening, hmm?” Loki grinned wolfishly and moved to sit on Steve’s lap.

                “In a minute,” he chuckled, “I’d like you to look at this first. I bought this for you as a sort of anniversary gift.” Steve handed him the tea tin and Loki happily took it. He could smell the tea leaves before even opening the lid and Loki was already salivating. As he lifted the tin and peered inside he gasped. Atop the tea was a silver band. It was brushed metal with a wide band. Loki picked it up and held it between his fingers, speechless and wide-eyed.

                “Steven?” he breathed heavily.

                “I worked myself up so much because I want to ask you to marry me,” Steve tensed.

                “I – yes,” Loki burst out.

                “Yea?” Steve confirmed.

                “God yes,” Loki slipped the ring on his finger and flung his arms around Steve’s shoulders and kissed him like he would die otherwise. They fell into a giggle fit kissing and holding each other. It wasn’t long before they were naked and kissing more in the bath. Loki relaxed against Steve’s chest as the blonde raked his fingers through Loki’s dark hair.

                The next day they told all their friends and family, all were exceedingly pleased. Loki’s mother flew out from London a few days later, without notice, to celebrate with them. Loki pretended to be annoyed by the abrupt arrival but Steve knew better. They were married 9 months later in an old Brooklyn cathedral. The crowd tossed tea leaves as they exited the church.  

               


End file.
